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Congress of Ministers
|border=darkgray}} KPD (31) |border=darkgray}} USPD (10) |border=darkgray}} FAUD (2) |border=darkgray}} Independents (2) | voting_system = Elected by the Congress of Workers' and Soldiers' Councils and Congress of State Councils through council democracy | last_election = November 1930 | next_election = November 1933 | footnotes = }} The Congress of Ministers (German: Ministerkongress) is the upper house of the legislature of the Free Socialist Republic of Germany. It is composed of an unfixed amount of members who are elected by the Congress of Workers' and Soldiers' Councils and the Congress of State Councils every time an election is held. It was originally known as the Council of the People's Deputies (German: Rat der Volksbeauftragten) before being renamed and transformed into its current structure during the 1921 legislative reforms. The original name was viewed as suggesting a superiority to the Congress of Workers' and Soldiers Councils. The Congress of Ministers is composed of two sections: the Council of Ministers (German: Ministerrat) and the People's Council (German: Volksrat). The Council of Ministers is composed of the heads of the various ministries in Germany. Some ministries have two heads. The People's Council is the collective head of state, with the Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson functioning as head of state and head of government respectively in practice. When proposing laws and reforms, two-thirds of the congress must approve before it will be passed for a vote to the Congress of Workers' and Soldiers' Councils. Neither the Chairperson nor the Deputy Chairperson is able to veto decisions made by either congress, unless emergency powers are granted by the majority of both congresses in a time of war or major crisis. These powers have never been used, and are strictly regulated by the constitution. The composition of the Congress of Ministers is directly tied to the will of the Congress of Workers' and Soldiers' Councils and, to a lesser extent, the Congress of State Councils. In the vein of soviet democracy, the Congress of Workers' and Soldiers' Councils can recall members of the Congress of Ministers through a vote of no confidence at any time. The Congress of State Councils can only elect and recall its 10 representatives in the People's Council. Neither section of the Congress of Ministers is permitted to appoint their own members, as they must be elected. The Congress of Ministers is, however, allowed to issue recommendations for candidacies. The close ties between the two legislative bodies are also expressed through the dual status of the President of the Congress of Workers' and Soldiers' Councils as a member of the People's Council. Laws proposed by the Congress of Ministers must be approved by the Congress of Workers' and Soldiers' Councils to be enacted. The Congress of Workers' and Soldiers' Councils can also propose legislation on its own, which must be approved by the Congress of Ministers under the same grounds as the opposite situation. This ensures that from a legislative perspective both bodies keep each other in check, officially to keep the Congress of Ministers from forming a separate social caste. Category:German legislatures Category:Free Socialist Republic of Germany